


Heart of the Beech

by CaptainLeBubbles



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Nanny, Alternate Universe - Romance Novel, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-23 11:08:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6114631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainLeBubbles/pseuds/CaptainLeBubbles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When James Ironwood takes a position as headmaster of Atlas Academy, his life takes a turn for the busy and forces him to hire a nanny for his beloved daughter Penny. Enter Qrow Branwen, a man at the bottom of his luck and desperate for any job he can get. Though James is initially reluctant to hire him, Penny bonds with him- and his two nieces- almost immediately. Determined to make her happy, he hires Qrow against his better judgment, but in time he begins to see that there's more to Qrow than he initially assumed.</p><p>James had always assumed that he was too busy for love- could Qrow be the one he needed to clear up his schedule?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I just really enjoy writing silly rom-nov style fics, it seems! This is meant to be in the same vein as All in the Batter- a light, easy to read and digest rom nov with typical rom-nov tropes played in hopefully unusual ways.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James interviews Qrow. Penny meets Ruby and Yang.

*

o/o

It had been Glynda’s idea to get a nanny.

James was against it. He had vowed, when he took Penny in five years ago, that he wouldn’t be the sort of father who left the raising of his daughter to someone else. He was going to do right by her, he swore, and that meant that, while he held no objectoin to sitters, he would not hire anyone on to mind her full-time. In the evenings, he was hers. End of story.

But that was before Atlas Academy’s headmaster had retired, and James had been promoted to replace him, and he’d suddenly found he had a lot less time on his hands than before.

He’d _tried_. For the first few months, he’d tried, but it just wasn’t working. Until he could get a workable schedule sorted out, until he could arrange his time so that he could continue to devote his evenings to his beloved Penny without being too tired to attend her, he had to get someone else to do it. He hated it, but it was simply the way of things.

So, telling himself that it was only temporary, he found an agency that would send him good candidates to choose from, and hoped that it wouldn’t be long before he could get his schedule sorted out.

o/o

Qrow had only gone to work for the agency as a last resort. He’d nannied a bit in his early twenties, when he was fresh out of college and needed the money. It hadn’t been his ideal, and he’d stopped as soon as he got a steady teaching position, but now that he’d been thrown out of Signal he needed _something._ He couldn’t keep living on Raven’s couch; they had assured him he was welcome as long as he needed, but he couldn’t help feeling like he was imposing. And his savings were fast drying up, so he wouldn’t even be able to help with the food and other expenses for much longer, which would make him even more of a burden.

At least they got a free babysitter out of the deal, but even that wasn’t enough to let him shake the need to make his own way and stop being a burden.

The guy they were sending him to was picky, they told him. He’d already turned away every potential nanny they’d sent, none of them meeting his standards. He’d probably turn Qrow away too, they told him. Don’t get your hopes up, they told him.

He wasn’t even sure why he was wasting his time, honestly. But he needed a job. He had to _try_.

It would just figure that that would be the day that three of Summer’s coworkers called in sick and she had to pull a double-shift at the store. And with Tai and Raven both out of town that weekend, it was up to Qrow to pick up the girls from school and look after them. Not that he minded- he loved both girls to bits, loved looking after them, but he wasn’t sure what to do about them with his interview. He’d have to take them with him, he guessed. Hopefully the guy would understand- and he doubted it would matter anyway, since he wasn’t likely to hire Qrow anyway.

o/o

“This place is pretty swank,” Qrow said, looking around at the beautiful ornaments in the foyer, and, “Don’t touch anything, Ruby,” he added, when his niece reached for a vase of pretty flowers. She retracted her hand guiltily; he just ruffled her hair to reassure her she wasn’t in trouble, and went back to looking around until a door opened at the top landing and a man appeared, followed closely behind by a young girl about Ruby’s age.

Qrow looked the man over while he came down the stairs, resisting the urge to whistle. Tall and impossibly handsome- perfectly coiffed hair just going grey at the temples, with just enough of it falling from the rest to be endearing, cheekbones Qrow suspected one could cut diamonds on, and a stern expression that came nowhere near his eyes, which were the deepest, gentlest blue Qrow had ever seen.

He turned his attention to the girl, rather than be caught staring, and gave her an encouraging smile when, once the pair were in the foyer, she moved to stand behind her father’s legs, peering around them shyly. She was a cute little thing, with curly red hair topped by a pretty pink ribbon, a dusting of freckles that crossed her nose, and pale green eyes that, when she turned them on him, reached into him and rummaged around in his soul, pulling up all the instincts for protection he had. Absurdly, and despite the clear lack of danger, he felt a strong urge to protect her.

“I’m Qrow,” Qrow said, extending his hand. “Qrow Branwen. That’s Ruby and Yang,” he added, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder at the two girls. “My nieces.”

“James Ironwood,” the man said, taking the offered hand. “And Penny, of course,” he added, resting his free hand encouragingly on her shoulder. She tugged on his pant leg, and he turned his full attention to her, letting Qrow’s hand drop. “Yes?”

“Father,” she said. “May I invite Ruby and Yang to my room to play?”

That stern look softened visibly at her request. He patted her shoulder. “Of course you can,” he said. “If that’s all right with Mr. Branwen?”

He raised a questioning eyebrow at Qrow, who nodded, and James nudged Penny forward, just enough to be encouraging, but not enough to be forceful. Penny took another two steps over to Ruby and Yang, who were watching curiously, and gave them both a polite curtsy.

“Hello,” she said. “My name is Penny. Would you like to come up to my room to play?”

“Sure!” Yang said, while Ruby nodded enthusiastically beside her. Yang stuck her hand out. “My name is Yang, by the way. And this is my little sister Ruby.”

Ruby managed a small wave and a shy, “Hello,” and she and Yang followed as Penny turned and led them up the stairs. There were two doors on either side of the landing; Penny led them through the one on the right, and James turned back to Qrow once they were out of sight, the door left slightly ajar behind them. They could just make out the girls’ voices, but no words. Qrow rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Sorry about them,” he said. “My sister-in-law had something come up and needed me to keep ‘em for the afternoon.”

“It’s all right,” James reassured him. He gestured for Qrow to follow him, and turned to lead him up the stairs. “Penny hasn’t many friends, and rarely has visitors. I’m sure she’ll be glad of the chance for company.”

James led him through the right-hand door, which turned out to be an office, with a second door on the opposite wall that was just ajar enough for Qrow to see that it led to his bedroom. He told Qrow to have a seat, so Qrow sank into a plush looking armchair while James took a seat behind his desk, reaching into a drawer for a pair of reading glasses so he could look over Qrow’s resume.

Those glasses just weren’t fair- he was already too handsome as it was.

They talked for awhile- James had a lot of probing questions about Qrow’s credentials, about his experience with children, about his lifestyle, about himself. When the interview finally came to a close, Qrow was startled to realize it had been almost two hours, and his stomach was growling. Well, he had skipped lunch earlier, and it was later in the evening than he thought. He gave Ironwood a sheepish smile, but James just frowned and stood.

“Why don’t you stay for dinner?” James said. “I’d like to see how you and Penny get along anyway-” He paused, and tilted his head slightly, listening to the laughter from the girls in the next room. A small smile tugged at his lips. “-and, I think it’s fair to say Penny isn’t _quite_  ready for her guests to leave.”

“Sure,” Qrow said, put somewhat off-balance by the offer. He didn’t want to intrude, but, he supposed it made sense to make sure his daughter would get along with her minder, before he decided to hire him. Maybe that was why he hadn’t hired anyone yet- maybe his daughter hadn’t liked any of them.

James led him across the landing to the other room, which turned out to be a mirror of the office: a playroom, filled with toys and bookshelves, with a little desk tucked into the corner, and, beyond the open door at the end of the room, a bedroom. A pair of forts made from pillows and toyboxes had been set up in either room, and Penny and Ruby were crouched behind one, while Yang was just visible behind the other. Judging by the foam darts scattered on the floor and the Nerf guns in their hands, it was pretty easy to guess what they were playing at.

“Penny,” James said, and she set her gun down and hurried over to him, standing up straight and looking up at him attentively. He knelt so they were closer to eye level, and once more his stern face softened visibly as he talked to her. “Would you like it if your guests stayed for dinner?”

Penny’s face lit into a dazzling smile. “I would like that very much, Father!” she said. “I’ll ask them!”

She scurried over to the girls, Yang having emerged from her fort to join them. “Would you like to stay for dinner?” she said, a formal clip entering her tone. “Tonight we are having taco salad, and my father bought groceries today, so there is fresh fruit in our kitchen for dessert.”

Oh, that was just precious. The girls both looked questioningly at Qrow, who nodded, and then turned back to Penny and gave enthusiastic agreement. That, apparently, decided, they headed downstairs, Penny chattering excitedly about the proper preparation of a taco salad as they did. Qrow chuckled softly. Taco salad night was a favorite at the Xiao Long-Branwen-Rose household as well.

o/o


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow gets the job, and a new place to live.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really enjoying writing all these little domestic scenes like? It's pretty fun ngl

After Qrow and his nieces left, James and Penny got to work on the dishes, Penny pulling her special stool (painted her favorite light green and covered in stickers and other graffiti to make it pretty) over to the sink beside her father, so that she could reach. She carefully rinsed each dish as he passed it to her, and set it equally carefully into the drainer. She had broken dishes before, and so did her best not to do it again.

“Penny,” James asked. “What do you think of Mr. Branwen?”

“I like him very much,” Penny said, turning to smile up at him. “He is very kind, and I liked his nieces too!” She turned back to rinsing glasses with a content little sigh. “Father, are you going to hire Mr. Branwen to look after me?”

“Would you like me to?”

“Yes. If you hire him, he might bring his nieces to play with me again.”

“If it’s just the girls you want to see, I’m sure I could arrange to have them visit again,” James said, amused. “But what about Mr. Branwen? He’s the one you’d see the most. I want to know that you’re okay with that, even if he doesn’t bring Ruby and Yang with him.”

“Oh, yes!” Penny nodded vigorously. “I like him, too!”

“All right, then,” he said. “I’ll call him tomorrow and we’ll get a contract made up.”

“Thank you, Father!” Penny turned and launched herself the few inches between them, throwing her arms around his middle. He dropped the glass he was washing and caught her before she could fall, getting soapy water all over the back of her dress. Well, she was already wet, he supposed, so he shifted his grip and lifted her up so she could wrap her arms around his neck instead. “And will you tell him that he may bring Ruby and Yang to play with me, when you do?”

“Of course, beloved,” he murmured, setting her down so they could get back to the dishes. “It sounds like he watches them a lot, so I’m sure that will be easier on his mind and their parents’ minds, as well.”

o/o

Meanwhile, across town, Qrow and Summer were talking about Qrow’s interview while they sorted laundry, the girls having been sent to their rooms to play quietly and settle until bedtime.

“Sounds like you made a good impression,” Summer said. “Do you think you got the position?”

“Enh, maybe.” Qrow shrugged. “I don’t know that I did any better than the others, and none of _them_  got it.”

“I doubt any of them brought cute nieces or had a letter of recommendation written by a former student, either,” Summer countered. “I’m sure it went fine.”

“Well, if it didn’t, I’ll have to keep trying. I can’t just live on your couch forever.”

“You know you’re welcome as long as you need,” Summer said sternly, throwing a rolled up sock at him in admonishment. “We love you, you’re family. We’d never throw you out.”

“That doesn’t make me feel like less of a burden,” he said. “I’m not out to take advantage of you guys.”

“We know you aren’t.” Summer reached over and took his hand, giving it a firm squeeze. “We know you’re trying- we just don’t want you to stress yourself too much.”

He gave her a lop-sided grin, and raised an arm to pull her into a one-armed hug. “Thanks, Summer,” he said. “I really do appreciate everything you guys are doing for me.”

o/o

James called Qrow after lunchtime the next day, to tell him he had the job. Qrow was cleaning up the house while Yang and Ruby played in the front yard; he almost dropped the phone when James asked him to come over so they could sort out his contract, his hands were shaking so much. Finally! Things were looking up for him. He let out a sigh of relief, then glanced out the window at the girls. Yang was pulling Ruby down the sidewalk in her little wagon.

“Listen,” he said. “I can come over whenever, but I’m watching my nieces today. Do you mind if I bring them along?”

“Not at all,” James said. “In fact that was something else I meant to mention- Penny really enjoyed playing with them yesterday, and I’m under very stern orders to inform you that they’re both welcome to come over any time you need to bring them.” He chuckled, and after a short, muffled comment from somewhere off to his right, added, “Or if you just want to.”

“Okay. Good.” Qrow grinned. “I’ll be over in… let’s say an hour? Two o’clock,” he added, glancing at the time and doing some quick calculations. “I’ll be there at two.”

“Two it is,” James repeated. “See you then.”

He hung up, and Qrow set the phone aside carefully before leaning on the counter, burying his face in his arms and letting his relief shake through him for a moment. He had a job. He was turning everything around. Things were finally looking up.

When he’d calmed himself, he stuck his head out the front door to call Ruby and Yang in to get ready to go, and then disappeared into the bathroom to get dressed.

 _Finally_.

o/o

When Qrow and the girls arrived, James led him into the office to negotiate a contract and schedule while Penny took Ruby and Yang into her room to play. It took awhile, but it wasn’t a particularly difficult negotiation, as James was determined to play fair and Qrow had no interest in cheating him out of more than he was able to give. Finally, terms were agreed on and James assured Qrow he’d have a witness handy when Qrow came for his first day of work on Monday.

When they’d done that, James leaned back in his chair and tilted his head so that he could listen to the girls laughing in Penny’s room. He smiled. “It’s nice to hear her laughing,” he said. “And I really did mean it about your nieces- you can bring them along any time you like. Penny likes them, and I understand that it would be a strain on their parents to have to get a new sitter just because you started working for me.”

“That’s real helpful,” Qrow said. He leaned back as well, letting himself relax. He still couldn’t believe his luck. “So how long did you say this job was gonna last for?”

“Hopefully not too long,” James said. “The terms for your contract are two months, but if I still need you at the end of that I’ll of course be happy to renegotiate.”

“Heh. Keep me around as long as you like- if you get rid of me, I have to go back to job hunting and living on my sister’s couch.” He winced. He’d meant it as a joke, but James was already sitting up straight again.

“When you said you lived with your sister, I assumed you meant as a member of the household- was that not right?”

“Eh.” He wobbled his hand. “I mean, I contribute, if that’s what you’re saying- but no, I’m just staying there because I couldn’t make rent on my place anymore after Signal gave me the boot. Raven and her family took me in, and I’m eternally grateful but would really like to stop being such a burden on them. Not to mention they don’t have a guest room so all my stuff that ain’t in storage is just piled in a corner of the living room and I don’t have any privacy.”

“That’s understandable,” James said, and added, “You know, we have a guest room here. I didn’t bring it up when we were talking contracts because I assumed your living situation wrong, but it’s not without precedent to add room and board into your contract. I know it’s probably not ideal, but it will at least get you off of your sister’s couch, and because it would be considered a part of your payment, you wouldn’t have to consider yourself a burden.” He leaned back again. “It’s up to you.”

Qrow pursed his lips while he considered, weighing the pros and cons. It would mean not being there with Ruby and Yang every night, and not being able to help Raven, Tai, and Summer around the house, but…

But he _really_  needed to get off of their couch. And he needed privacy. And the house was not so far out of the way- about a twenty minute drive- that he couldn’t be handy if they did need him.

Finally he nodded. “All right,” he said. “We can add that to my contract. At least it’ll give me somewhere while I look for something after my contract is up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CLICHE LIVING TOGETHER SCENARIO


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow's first day on the job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter isn't all that interesting, and it's a little all over the place, but I wanted to just go ahead and establish some stuff so

On Monday, Qrow borrowed Raven’s truck so he could get his stuff moved over to the Ironwood house. James had shown him the room he’d be living in before he left Saturday; it was a pretty big room just beyond the living room, with a walk-in closet and a frankly decadent en suite at the back. Qrow had stood in the doorway of the en suite for several minutes before it clicked in his head.

“This is the master bedroom,” he said. James had nodded.

“Originally, anyway. The arrangement of the upstairs rooms suits me better,” he explained. “I like having my office and bedroom beside each other. Besides, when I brought Penny here to live with me, I decided I wanted to be closer to her, and that meant moving upstairs.”

“You didn’t always have her, then?” he asked.

James shook his head, a bitter look passing over his face. “Her mother didn’t see fit to inform me of her existence,” he said. “I only learned of Penny when her mother passed away, and they called to tell me I had a daughter who needed me. She was three at the time.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Qrow had said, a touch awkward. “Were you and she.. close?”

“No.”

He had clammed up at that, and Qrow had gotten the point, turning his attention instead to the tour James was giving him of the house. He was obviously devoted to Penny, that much was apparent- there were pictures of her all over the walls, as well as drawings she’d done. She had a fair hand, Qrow thought, eyeing a drawing that was very clearly a giraffe.

James had suggested Qrow get moved in while Penny was at school, and Qrow had agreed, since there wouldn’t be anyone else around the house and it would give him a chance to get settled in properly. He wasn’t bringing all of his stuff, of course- just enough to make his room comfortable, and as he eyed the truck and the pile of junk in his storage unit, he decided that he could make it in one trip. His bedframe, mattresses, bookshelf, and dresser would fit neatly in the bed of the truck, and a few boxes with his books and linens were shoved into the spaces, and that was that. Everything else he needed he’d had at Raven’s already, and that was in two plastic containers in the back seat of the truck.

It was a little depressing, was what it was. But at least he had somewhere to keep his stuff, and at least he had somewhere to live, now.

He was done unpacking, all but his books, when it was time to go pick up Penny from school. He shoved the box over to the bookshelf, grabbed his coat, and took off.

o/o

Penny was a student at Atlas Academy, which had surprised Qrow. He hadn’t realized that Atlas had an Elementary level. He wondered if it would be possible to get a teaching job there- once his time with Penny ran out, he’d need something else, and he was a teacher above anything else. He considered the idea that morning, when he and James were signing their contract. They were witnessed by Glynda and Ozpin, two friends James had asked to drop by, who- as it turned out- were also friends of Qrow’s.

“Small world,” Qrow had said, praying that neither of them would feel the need to talk to James at length about why he wasn’t at Signal anymore. But neither of them appeared inclined, and the contract was signed and the two had walked with Qrow to the parking lot. Once they were out of earshot, both had assured him that they would practice discretion- they knew how hard he was working, they reminded him, and since he was doing well, they would continue to.

“And if you have another relapse,” Glynda had added, poking him in the chest, “then _this_  time you come to us _before_  you put anyone else at risk. Understand?” She was glaring at him, that stern look she used on stupid teenagers who did stupid things. He’d hung his head.

“Yes, Glynda,” he’d said, not bothering to argue with her. What argument could he offer? He’d fucked up. End of story.

“She means well,” Ozpin had said, grim smile not meeting his eyes. “We know you’re trying, Qrow. And we know how much of a struggle it must be- we only want to help.”

“Yeah, well.” Qrow had shrugged. “I think things are looking up now? Jimmy seems a good sort, and Penny’s sweet… I’m sure I can do this. And maybe… maybe if I can find somewhere stable I can start trying to get a position teaching again.”

“We’ll help you any way we can,” Ozpin had said, reaching over to squeeze his arm in reassurance. “And James is a good man- you’re in good hands with him.”

They’d parted, then, Glynda and Ozpin headed for Glynda’s car while Qrow’d crossed the parking lot the rest of the way to the truck. Once he was in the driver’s seat, he’d sat there for a long time, arms folded on the wheel, chin resting on them, staring up at the school. He missed that- being in front of a classroom.

But he had to take things one step at a time, and the current step was doing a good job looking after Penny.

So now he was waiting outside her school with a crowd of mothers and fathers and nannies and sitters, watching a rail thin man with green hair argue with a short man with a magnificent mustache, and trying to decide whether they were a couple or not while he waited for the kids to be released.

There were worse things.

o/o

Penny ran to meet him once the bell rang, launching herself at him in a hug. He grinned down at her- James had said she liked him, but he hadn’t realized he’d meant that much. Or maybe the kid was just the sort to greet anyone she knew with a hug. Either way, he patted her head gently in greeting before peeling her off of him.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said. “Have an okay day at school?”

“Yes! We are learning about photosynthesis in my science class, and so we are growing beans in little flower boxes!”

“Say, that sounds pretty exciting.” He glanced around; many of the children were playing in the courtyard, and others were retreating to the playground under the watchful eyes of their caretakers. “You want to hang around here and play with your friends a little bit before I take you home?” he asked.

“Oh. Um.” Penny hung her head shyly, toeing at the ground. “I do not… have any friends,” she admitted. “So there is no one for me to play with. Besides!” She turned to look back up at him. “I have homework to do, and it is best to get homework done first, and _then_  play.”

“Ah. Well.” He took her hand and led her back to Raven’s truck. “Personally I think there’s room in your schedule for a little bit of playing before homework, but if that’s how you want to do it we can manage it. What kind of homework you got?”

“I have a worksheet to do in math, and a worksheet to do in English. They will not be hard.”

“All right, well, let’s get home and get them done, then.”

o/o

Raven brought the girls over with her when she came to pick up her truck later, and she and Qrow sat on the front step while they and Penny played in the front yard. She’d been too tired from her trip to really talk when she’d gotten home last night, so now he filled her in on the details about his new job.

“So tell me about your boss,” Raven said, leaning back on her hands.

“Jimmy’s pretty nice,” Qrow replied, shrugging. “Kinda stiff, a little formal, but he’s devoted to Penny. He isn’t looking for this to be a long term solution, in fact, cause he wants to get his schedule arranged so he has enough time for her without needing a nanny.”

Raven snorted. “That’s stupid,” she said. “He’s a single parent, right? Doesn’t he realize that he can’t be available twenty-four seven? I mean hell, there’s three of us at home and even we need help.”

Qrow laughed. He had, privately, thought the same thing, but hadn’t been about to jinx his chances of getting the job by saying so out loud. “He said he never wanted to be one of those fathers that wasn’t available to his kid.” Qrow shrugged. “Maybe he’ll get the point by the time my contract is up and I won’t be out of a job. Henh?”

“Maybe.” She bumped her shoulder against his. “But if he doesn’t, you know where our couch is.”

“Mean.”

o/o

When James got home, Qrow had just enough time to introduce him to Raven and explain her presence before Penny came barrelling over and threw herself into his arms. He caught her mid-leap, swinging her around before setting her down and ruffling her hair fondly, turning back to Raven as he did.

“Like I told Qrow already, the girls are welcome here any time. Would you like to come in?” he added. “Penny and I have to get dinner started.”

“Nah, I should probably get home and see if I can scrounge up something for this lot. Ruby! Yang!” she turned to call them in. “Come on, time to go.”

“Coming, Mama!”

They came running, and once they’d reached the group Penny gave both of them big hugs before turning to Raven. “Thank you for bringing Ruby and Yang to play with me,” she said, the picture of formality. “We had a lot of fun!”

“No problem, kiddo.” Raven glanced at Qrow, and put her hand beside her mouth, as if imparting a big secret. “Hey, you keep an eye on my brother for me, okay?”

Penny snapped into a jaunty salute, beaming. “Yes, ma’am!” she said, and, “Goodbye, Ruby, goodbye, Yang, goodbye, Mrs. Branwen!”, before following her father inside.

Raven reached over to give her brother’s arm a squeeze. “You’re gonna do fine,” she said, and turned to herd her children toward the truck. Over her shoulder, she called, “See ya’ around, birdbrain!”

o/o

Once he was inside, Qrow found James and Penny in the kitchen, both washing their hands at the sink. Qrow did a double-take when he caught the glint of silver, saw the metal casing that had been revealed on the right side when James had rolled his sleeves up to the elbows. Before he could think that it might be an inappropriate question, he asked, “I thought those things weren’t supposed to get wet.”

“Hm?” James glanced at him over his shoulder, then looked down at his arm. He shut the sink off and turned around while he dried his hands. “Only the oldest models,” he said. “The material they made the joints out of didn’t dry very quickly, so it wasn’t advised to get it wet if it could be avoided. But that problem was done away with pretty early on, they use a different material now and it repels water.”

“Oh.” Qrow took a seat at the counter. “My mistake.”

“A common misconception.” James turned to Penny, kneeling so they were eye level. “What shall we do for dinner tonight, beloved?” he asked.

Penny considered this for a long time, pursing her lips and scrunching her face, before beaming. “Cheeseburger macaroni!” she shouted. James grinned, and patted her shoulder.

“Cheeseburger macaroni it is,” he said, standing. “You like cheeseburger macaroni, Qrow?”

“If it’s made right. You and Penny cook together a lot?”

“Almost every night!” Penny chirped, while she dragged her stool over to the cabinet so she could get out noodles, and a pot to boil them in. “Father says it is a good bonding activity.”

“It gives us a chance to spend time together,” James said, grabbing a pack of hamburger meat from the fridge. “Which is more important than ever now that I’m so busy.”

Qrow couldn’t help smiling at that- dear god this man was devoted. Was he trying to make up for the three years he’d lost? Qrow wouldn’t put it past him if he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why the image of James and Penny cooking together pleases me so much.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thus concludes Qrow's first day of work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like sneaking Grimm into the mundane au's, it's always fun.

o/o

Once dinner was done, James and Penny set to the dishes, while Qrow disappeared into his room to finish unpacking. All that was left was his books, and those didn't take long; that done, he sat down on the end of his bed and stared at the door for several long minutes. He probably wouldn't take long to settle in, of course, he knew that- he had always been adaptable, and adjusted quickly in new situations. But that first day or two was always the worst. He wasn't sure what to do with himself.

By the time James knocked on his door, nearly an hour later, he'd showered and was sprawled out on his bed playing Grimm Collector- he'd once more missed a visit by the Dragon Grimm, the rarest one in the game, and he was frustratedly buying fresh Grimm Bits to try again when he heard the knock.

“Come in,” he said, and glanced up when James entered. “Need something?”

“Penny wants to say goodnight,” James said.

Qrow set his phone aside and headed upstairs to Penny's room, where he found her in the doorway, wrapped up in a pink blankie and clutching a plush Ursa to her chest. He grinned.

“Hey, you a fan of Grimm collector?”

She nodded emphatically. “Yes! Father lets me play it on his phone, and he bought me the Ursa for my birthday last month.”

“Lucky goose,” he said, reaching down to nudge her gently toward the bed. She hurried over and crawled into her covers, snuggling down. He sat down at the end of her bed to chat with her a few minutes. “I've been trying to find a Nevermore for Yang's next birthday but they're hard to find.” Not to mention he hadn't been able to afford the one he did find. Penny didn't need to know that, though.

“Nevermores scare me,” Penny admitted, bundling down tighter. “They look like crows, and crows are mean.”

Well now. That hurt a little. “Nah,” he said. “Crow's are nice. Dead clever, too. And they always know who their friends are.”

“Are you sure?”

She looked dubious, so Qrow gave her his best cheeky grin. “Come on, kiddo,” he said. “My name is literally Crow McRaven. I know crows, okay?”

“Well...” She frowned. “Okay...”

He reached over and chucked her chin gently. “Tell you what,” he said. “I have a book about crows- everyone always wants to give me books about crows, for some reason- so tomorrow when you finish your homework, we'll take a look. Then you can see that crows aren't mean, at least, not most of the time. You like that?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“That's my girl. I'm gonna say goodnight now, okay?”

She nodded again, and slid down into her covers until she was snuggled up tight. “Goodnight, Mr. Branwen.”

“Night, Penny.”

He ruffled her hair fondly, then stood to leave. James was standing outside the playroom, leaning on the door waiting; when Qrow came out, he went in. Qrow murmured a good night, then headed down to get something to drink before bed.

o/o

Qrow had brought a carton of juice with him when he came, to make sure there was something in the house he liked to drink, and James appeared while he was pouring himself a glass. He didn't pay the other much attention while he got something from the fridge, only looking up when James appeared in front of him with two bottles in hand.

“I was going to have a drink before bed,” he said. “Care to join me?”

“I don't drink,” Qrow said, turning his attention to his juice rather than the bottle James had offered him, but, _What's one drink?_ he thought. _One too many,_ came the answer, immediately. He curled his hand into a fist at his side, knuckles white from the force. Now or never, he was going to find out sooner or later. “Actually... I'm a... I'm a recovering alcoholic. So.”

There was a pause, and then James turned around wordlessly and returned both bottles to the fridge. “I'm sorry,” he said, turning back. “I didn't realize.”

“Well, I mean, that's cause I didn't tell you.” Qrow looked up at him, a little startled by the act. “Don't let me stop you,” he said. “Just because I'm not allowed doesn't mean you aren't.”

“I'm not as heartless as my reputation sometimes suggests,” James said. “I'd like to spend a some time getting to know you, and I'm not callous enough to drink in front of you.”

Qrow snorted, and changed the subject. “I don't think anyone who's spent more than five minutes with you would call you heartless. Only have to see the way you look at that girl of yours to know.”

“Not everyone gets to see me with Penny,” he said. He poured himself a glass of milk instead, and gestured for Qrow to join him in the living room. They settled somewhere near the middle of an impossibly long couch, and James stretched his legs out in front of him, crossed at the ankles. That probably explained the couch, actually. Man that tall needed a couch he could fit. “Or around my students. Or they are my students and can't understand that what I'm doing is best for them.”

“That's why I teach elementary school,” Qrow said. “Teenagers are a lot more prone to doing really stupid shit.”

“That's exactly _why_ I teach high school,” James countered, a smile tugging at his lips. Qrow just shrugged.

“I did a lot of really stupid shit when I was a teenager,” he said. “Kinda makes me feel like a hypocrite to tell them not to.”

James laughed softly at that. “At least I have proof that I know what I'm talking about, when I tell them not to do something dangerous.” He held up his arm; in a loose t-shirt, Qrow could see that the cybernetics went all the way up to his shoulders, by the look of it.

“Can I ask..?”

“Car accident,” James said. “I was nineteen and incredibly stupid, and I paid for it, with my arm and nearly my life.”

“Rough.”

They talked more after that, mostly comparing their experiences teaching elementary level versus high school. Qrow could understand, now, why James would have a reputation for being a bit heartless among his students- though it was clear, painfully clear, that he loved them, Qrow also remembered being a teenager and knew that anyone who'd had his best interests in mind wasn't doing anything to make himself popular, mostly by having his best interests in mind.  


“Do you date much?” Qrow asked. James gave him an odd look, and Qrow held up a hand reassuringly. “I was just wondering how often I'm likely to have to watch Penny at night,” he clarified. “Not prying.”

“Oh. No, I don't date at all.”

“None?” Qrow raised an eyebrow. “Like, ever?”

“Not since I got Penny. She takes all of my free time- occasionally I go out with Glynda, but I don't have time to maintain a relationship or date anyone.”

Qrow frowned. “You do realize you're allowed to hire a babysitter and go on dates, right? And hey, now that you've got me around-”

“If I had time to date, I wouldn't have needed to hire you at all,” James countered, a touch of frost in his tone. “My evenings belong to Penny- they're the only part of the day I can offer her without question.”

“I don't think she'd mind sparing you one or two of them.”

“It doesn't matter.” James' face was stern now, all of the warmth gone from his eyes. “I swore when I brought Penny here that I wouldn't be a father that left the raising of my daughter to someone else. Hiring a nanny was hard enough, I'm not going to give up even _more_ of my time just for the sake of romance.”

“Oh lord.” Qrow rolled his eyes. “You're a single parent, Jimmy. There's no shame in needing help- you can't do everything yourself. I mean hell, look at my sister. She's got a husband _and_ a wife, and for the past six months I've been living with her too. That's _four_ adults for two kids, and me unemployed and making up my slack by looking after 'em. And we _still_ had to hire sitters sometimes.” He rested a hand on James' shoulder. “Look, you love your daughter. That much is clear. And it speaks well of you that you want to be around her. But you gotta take time for yourself, too.”

There was a long silence, and then James turned a stony glare at him. “Goodnight, Qrow,” he said, with ice in his voice. He stood, shaking Qrow's hand off as he did, and disappeared into the foyer and up the stairs. Qrow listened to him reach the landing, slipping across to open Penny's door first before heading into his own room. Qrow gave him another moment, then leaned back with a groan.

“Now you've done it,” he muttered. He'd overstepped, definitely- but he hadn't expected James to be so firm on the subject. He wondered if there was more to it than James was saying, and decided to ask Ozpin next time he saw him. Ozpin would know.

o/o

In his room, James sat on the end of his bed and stared at the wall for a long time. He was annoyed at Qrow, in part because he knew that Qrow was  _technically_ right- and honestly, he hadn't said anything that Glynda and Ozpin hadn't also, a thousand times before. That was probably why it annoyed him, honestly. It was bad enough coming from them, his closest friend and a man he trusted as much as- if not more than- his own father. Getting it from his daughter's nanny, a man he'd known less than a week, felt like a judgment.

“What does he know anyway?” James said, glaring at his reflection in the mirror. “He's not a parent. He can't understand.”

o/o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> James is dumb but also very big-hearted. But also dumb.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow injures himself on James' good looks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wear clothes Jimmy just wear clothes. _Think of the children_.
> 
> [The song Qrow is singing can be found here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmHpgwgYv2k)

o/o

When James woke up the next morning, the house was filled with the smell of bacon cooking. He grinned, and threw on a pair of pajama pants before making his way downstairs. Qrow was in the kitchen when he got there, singing what sounded like a song about red rose. He had a pretty good voice, James thought. A little rough, but that worked well for him.

“Smells good,” James said, as he came in. Qrow turned around at his voice, and quite suddenly dropped the tongs and the strip of bacon he'd been in the process of flipping. He must have dropped it on his foot, because he yelped and leaped back one-footed, reaching out to catch himself and grabbing the handle of the frying pan by mistake. He went down with a crash and several muffled swearwords, and the frying pan and bacon went flying at the same time.

James was at his side in an instant, reaching for Qrow's uninjured hand to help him sit up and then holding out his hand for the burned hand, which Qrow was cradling close to his chest.

“Let me see,” James said, putting all of the gentleness he might use on one of his students into his voice. Qrow hissed softly, and held out his hand for James to look at.

It wasn't as bad as it might have been- there was an angry red mark on his palm, and a matching one on his fingers, but he'd only held the pan for a second and it had had no time to do any real damage. Qrow climbed shakily to his feet, with James' help, wincing when he caught site of the frying pan, bacon, and hot grease on the floor.

“So much for breakfast,” he said, reaching over to turn the stove off. “Sorry.”

“It's fine,” James reassured him. “As long as you're not hurt.”

“Not too badly,” Qrow said. He turned to the sink to run some cold water over his hand. “Gonna have a nasty bruise on my foot and my hand hurts like hell, but, you know. Apart from that.” He glanced at James, then looked away quickly, a faint blush tinging his cheeks. James frowned, confused, and then finally realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. A blush of his own spread up the back of his neck; he disappeared into the laundry room and emerged a moment later with a t-shirt on.

“Sorry,” he said. “I wasn't thinking.”

“I'm not- I mean, it's fine,” Qrow said. “Just- unexpected.” He glanced over at James again, and back to the sink. “So uh. Just how much if you is cybernetic, again?”

James chuckled. He moved over to the fallen frying pan and picked it up with his right hand, and began dropping the spilled bacon into it. “The entire right side of my body,” he said, and, “I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking about you not knowing, or I'd have thrown on a shirt before I came down.”

“It was just a shock,” Qrow said weakly. “That car accident?”

“No, this was later. And I don't want to talk about it,” he added, before Qrow could ask. “Was there any bacon left?”

“Half a pack in the fridge. Pass it to me, will you?” Qrow was grabbing the other frying pan from the cabinet already. “I can still have breakfast ready by the time you and Penny are done getting dressed. How do you like your eggs?”

James looked a little surprised, and, “Over easy,” he said. “You don't have to...”

“I want to. I always made breakfast for everyone over at Raven's, and anyway I wanted to make up for last night. I was out of line. It's your business if you date or not.”

There was a silence. Qrow's face was open and honest, sincere, and James' eyes softened. “It's forgiven,” he said gently. “And thank you for breakfast. I'm going to go wake Penny up.”

He disappeared up the stairs, pausing outside of Penny's door to lean his head on it, taking a deep breath to steady himself. His heart was pounding a heavy rhythm, had been ever since Qrow had toppled over. He'd gotten it under control once he knew Qrow was going to be okay, but then when Qrow'd apologized for the night before it had just started pounding again. Something about Qrow's expression had reached deep into him and left him feeling vulnerable.

“Get a grip,” he hissed to himself, and pushed open the door.

o/o

Once James was gone, Qrow switched off the stove and leaned over on his arms, pillowing his head on them with a long, drawn-out groan. He could only hope that James never figured that the reason he'd dropped his tongs was that he'd gone slack-jawed at the sight of him standing there, an expanse of bare skin and metal, hair tousled from sleep and pajamas hanging low on his hips and hiding  _nothing_ . Qrow groaned again, and reached around to turn the stove back on.

“He's your boss,” Qrow told himself, as sternly as he could. “You're not allowed to have the hots for your boss.”

o/o

By the time James and Penny were dressed and ready for the day, Qrow had pulled himself together, gotten breakfast on the table, and managed to clean up the spilled bacon grease. The floor was still slick, so he moved one of the barstools over on it; he would give it a proper clean later, after they'd left.

“Thank you very much for making breakfast, Mr. Branwen,” Penny said. He grinned.

“Not a problem, kiddo,” he said. “And hey, you can drop the Branwen, all right? Mr. Qrow'll do fine. Mr. Branwen makes me sound like my dad.”

“Okay! Mr. Qrow!”

Breakfast was a cheery- if a bit hurried- affair, and before long James and Penny were out the door and on their way to school and work for the day. Qrow cleaned up the dirty breakfast dishes, then went back to his room and flopped over on his bed. He didn't really have much to do until it was time to pick up Penny in the afternoon.

He ended up drawing himself a bath, steaming hot with bubbles and jets in the unnecessarily fancy tub in his bathroom- quite an upgrade from sharing a tiny bathroom with his two nieces, that was for sure. He had just gotten comfortable when his phone rang; he thumped his head back against the tile with a sigh, then reached for it.

“Qrow here.”

“Qrow, it's James.” Of course it was. “Can I get you to do me a favor? I left a very important folder sitting on my desk, and I need it. Could you bring it by the school for me?”

“Sure.” Qrow hauled himself out of the tub and toweled off enough to not drip through the house, and made his way up to James' office. “What time you need it?”

“By lunchtime, if you can. And thank you.”

“Not a problem. Okay, I think I've got it. Manila with August-October on the tab, right?”

“That's the one. Just bring it to my office when you get here.”

“Okay. See you then.”

Qrow hung up and set his phone down, and groaned. Near the end of their conversation, the thought had come unbidden into his mind: an image of himself, bent over James' desk with the man pounding into him. Or maybe he'd be on his back, he mused, as he made his way back downstairs to get dressed. Yes, that sounded more his thing. Jimmy was the sort of man who'd want to look at his partner while they f-

-while they _made love_ , he corrected, applying what he knew of James so far. Yes, James was exactly the sort of man to call it making love. Every time. Regardless of circumstance.

He was rummaging around in his underwear drawer before he realized what he was thinking. He clamped down hard on that train of thought. “He is your _boss_ , Qrow,” he told himself sternly. “You do _not_ have fantasies about your boss fucking you on his desk. _Stop that_ ,” he added, glaring at his dick, which had stirred in interest at the mental images he'd created. “Those are _very_ bad idea jeans.”

He managed to get his thoughts under control by the time he was dressed and on his way, which was definitely for the best. He just hoped he didn't get a blast of round two once he was in James' office at the school.

o/o

Atlas Academy was just unnecessarily fancy. It was also a bit military, from the shape and color of the building to the boring grey, black, and white uniforms the students wore. Qrow shuddered as he went through the hall to James' office. What a dreary place- he'd have been miserable here, when he was a teenager.

According to James' secretary, he was in a meeting with a parent; she directed Qrow to sit down and wait, as he wasn't going to be long. Then she disappeared back into the office, leaving Qrow sat across from a teenage girl with white hair pulled into pigtails and the smuggest, haughtiest look he'd ever seen on a teenage girl.

She was also staring at him, studying him openly, blatantly judging. He squinted at her.

“Yes?”

“So,” she said, turning her nose up a little. “ _You're_ my replacement.”

“Your what?”

“I was doing just fine as Penny's babysitter before you came along,” she said. Qrow just furrowed his brow- but right, James had said he went out with Glynda sometimes. He must have had Princess Snooty there to babysit her for those nights, then. Qrow shrugged, and folded his hands behind his head.

“Apparently Jimmy disagreed,” Qrow said. “Or he wouldn't have hired me.”

This just made the girl bristle angrily, and he gave her his cockiest, smuggest grin, and winked.

o/o

“I assure you, Mr. Ironwood, Winter and I will be having a long talk about her violent tendencies,” Mr. Schnee said. “I hope we won't be having this conversation again.”

“I should hope not,” James said, standing and gesturing for Mr. Schnee to go ahead of him. “Winter is a very good student when she controls her temper, but she's missing out on her education when she's in my office every other day for-”

He trailed off, and sighed. Qrow and Winter were making rude faces at each other across the lobby. He glanced at Mr. Schnee, who was looking at him expectantly, and rolled his eyes.

“Qrow! Winter!” Winter responded instantly, sitting back and adopted a chagrined look, but Qrow just rolled his eyes and folded his arms, turning to look at James with one eyebrow raised. James pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “Qrow, don't do that.”

“She started it,” Qrow protested, getting him a huff and more bristling from Winter.

“ _She's_ fourteen,” James said. “Do you really want to follow that train of thought?”

Qrow just frowned- almost a pout, and it was _almost_ cute, but Winter looked like she wanted to deck him and Mr. Schnee was watching him curiously, and the last thing he wanted to do was upset his school's biggest benefactor needlessly. “My office, Qrow,” he growled. “Winter, go back to class. And no more fighting!” he added, as she turned on her heel and flounced away. “Mr. Schnee, I trust this is the last time we have to meet under these circumstances.”

“We both know it isn't,” Mr. Schnee said. “I'll leave you to deal with your other problem now. Good day.”

o/o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tiny hellion Winter is important to me.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penny makes some new friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has Ren and Nora in it! I really like the idea of them being raised by Port and Oob.

o/o

“Oh lord, now you've done it,” Qrow murmured, once was in James' office. He leaned back on the doorjamb and took a deep breath, willing himself back under control. That growl was echoing in his head; combined with his thoughts this morning it was making it very hard to focus. He willed his body under control, and had just enough time to pull on a cocky expression before the door opened and James came in.

“Am I in trouble?” he asked, smirking. James just rolled his eyes.

“No, you're not, I just wanted to get you away from Winter. Do you have the folder?”

Qrow handed it over, then shoved his hands into his pockets and looked around while James moved over to his desk. He should probably go, now, and leave James to his work, but he wasn't quite ready to.

“I take it Miss Fussy-Britches out there used to be your usual babysitter,” he said, leaning back on the desk. James nodded.

“Is that why she was antagonizing you?”

“Oh, _now_ you believe me.”

“I never said I didn't. I just pointed out that _she's_ a teenager and _you_ are an adult. You shouldn't encourage her.”

“She doesn't need encouragement, she was doing fine without it.”

“ _Qrow_.”

“What?”

James sighed. “Was there anything else you needed?”

“I was going to run a few errands in town since I'm up here anyway,” Qrow said. He wasn't, but James didn't need to know that. “Need anything while I'm there?”

James looked surprised, but shook his head. “Nothing, thank you. I'll see you this evening.”

The dismissal was clear. Qrow waved and headed out, a little reluctant but relieved to be away all the same.

o/o

Once he was sure Qrow was gone, James leaned back in his chair and took a long, deep breath. He needed to get a handle on himself- halfway through their conversation he'd been struck with the sudden image of himself bending Qrow over and fucking him into the desk until the other couldn't remember his own name. _Or_ , his mind supplied, what about Qrow riding him in his desk chair? Qrow was probably limber enough.

It took him a moment to realize what he was thinking. He let out a frustrated noise and pressed his palms into his eyes. That was not a good set of thoughts to have- he was not going to be that guy, it was inappropriate and disrespectful to fantasize about his employee in such a way.

“Knock it off,” he hissed. “And nobody asked you,” he added, glaring down at his crotch.

o/o

Qrow ended up stopping by the college to bother Tai after he left Atlas; he slipped quietly into the classroom and sat at the back of the room, only half-listening to Tai lecture on about limestone deposits and fossil records. He'd heard it all before- he'd spent a lot of time visiting Tai at the college since he'd lost his job, and Tai rarely made major changes to his material. When class was over and all of the students were gone, Tai ambled back to sit at the desk Qrow was occupying.

“Hey there, Scarecrow,” he said. “Everything okay?”

Qrow opened his mouth to reassure his friend he was fine, then closed it and shrugged. “I don't know,” he said. “You ever get the hots for someone you weren't supposed to?”

“Well, when I was first dating Raven I had the hots for Summer,” Tai said. “But we all know how that turned out, so...” He trailed off, and shrugged. Qrow just shook his head.

“No, I mean, someone inappropriate, like a coworker, or your boss.”

“My boss is a sixty-eight year old man with a terrible combover,” Tai deadpanned, and then paused as understanding dawned . “But _your_ boss is an impossibly tall single dad with blue eyes and a voice like molten silk.” At Qrow's questioning eyebrow, he added, “Raven told us. I think she probably embellished it a bit but we got the point. So you've got the hots for him?”

“Yeah. Which would be _fine_ if my brain didn't keep deciding to supply me with fantasies at the most inopportune times.”

“Such as?”

“Such as when I'm talking to him, one of his students, and her father.” Qrow scowled. “It'd be inappropriate to just crawl into his lap and tell him to have his way with me, wouldn't it?” he said.

“He's your boss,” Tai said. “And your landlord. It'd be _really_ inappropriate, not to mention it wouldn't be fair to put _him_ in that position, either.”

“You think?”

“ _Qrow_.”

“All right, all right.” Qrow pouted. “I'll behave myself. But lord, I wish I was working for an old fogey with a bad combover.”

o/o

Qrow got to Atlas Elementary early, not having anything better to do, and he settled down on a bench to wait. He wasn't the only one early- the beanpole of a man he'd been watching the day before was there as well, a book in one hand and a thermos in the other. Qrow squinted at him- he looked familiar.

“Say, I know you,” he said. “You work up at the college with Tai.”

The man lowered his book and nodded. “Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck,” he said, with a polite incline of his head. He peered over the top of his glasses at Qrow. “You're Taiyang's brother-in-law?”

Qrow nodded, and they fell to talking. Dr. Oobleck was a foster parent, Qrow learned, as was the portly man he'd been arguing with the day before (not his boyfriend, Qrow found). He also knew of a possible opening at Haven Junior High, and offered to get Qrow the contact information if he'd come by after they collected the children.

By the time the bell rang to signal the end of the school day, Qrow was actually feeling hopeful- the opening at Haven was exactly what he'd been hoping for. He scanned the crowd, looking for the familiar pink bow and grinning when Penny barreled over and pounced him. He lifted her up and swung her around.

“Hey there, powderpuff,” he said. “Have a good day at school?”

“Yes! We learned about perspective in art, and in PE, I came _fourth_ in the obstacle course!”

“Say, that's pretty good! Out of how many?”

“There are eighteen students in my class, and fifteen were present today,” she said, adopting a professional tone that reminded Qrow of her father. He laughed and ruffled her hair.

“Fourth out of fifteen is nothing to sneeze at,” he said. “Good job. Homework?”

“I must solve twenty multiplication problems for math, and write sentences using my spelling words,” she said. “It will not take long.”

“Sounds pretty doable.” He took her hand. “You know Dr. Oobleck?”

“He is Lie Ren's guardian,” Penny said. “Ren is in fifth grade, so I don't know him very well. Why do you ask?”

“Cause we've gotta drop by their place and pick something up before we go home. Just wondered if you knew him. Hey, Doc,” he added, as they joined Dr. Oobleck, currently trying to wrangle Ren and the girl Port had picked up the day before. “I got the powderpuff, ready when you are.”

“Of course,” Dr. Oobleck said. “I only live around the corner, so we just walk home. This is Ren,” he added, gesturing to the boy. “And Nora. Peter teaches an evening class on Tuesdays and Thursdays so she's my responsibility for now.”

Penny stepped closer to Qrow and gave Ren and Nora her usual shy wave. “Hello, Ren and Nora,” she said. “I'm Penny.”

“We know who you are, silly,” Nora said, throwing an arm around Penny and sweeping her away, gesturing wildly with her free arm while she chattered at ninety-miles-a-minute. Ren trailed behind her, occasionally interjecting a comment when Nora took a breath. Qrow and Dr. Oobleck followed after them, Dr. Oobleck occasionally calling reminders to Nora not to get too far ahead.

“I feel sorry for Ren sometimes,” Dr. Oobleck confided. “Between me, Peter, and Nora, it's no wonder the boy barely talks.” He smiled gently. “Though, every time I've asked, he's said that he just doesn't have much to say. Doesn't seem to mind interjecting if he does.”

“Some kids are just quiet,” Qrow said, and shrugged. “How long have you had him?”

“A year, and a bit.” He smiled. “Peter got Nora not long before I got Ren. It's good we live so closely together, the two are inseparable. And it's a big help to have each other around if we don't have much time for the kids. Having a support network is good when you're a single parent.”

Qrow chuckled. “Tell that to Jimmy,” he said. “The man's convinced that needing help with Penny makes him a bad parent. Says he doesn't want to leave her raising to someone else.”

Dr. Oobleck nodded. “James is a very smart man, but where his daughter is concerned he can be a bit stupid. And stubborn. You won't get through to him- he'll just have to figure it out on his own.”

“I guess. Just hope it doesn't mess up me being employed.”

“Well, if you can get the position at Haven, it won't matter. It's just a sub position, but at least then you'll be away in time to pick up Penny in the afternoon if you get a class.”

They'd reached the house; Ren, Nora, and Penny were waiting on the porch for Dr. Oobleck to unlock the door for them. Once inside, Ren went into the kitchen to get out graham crackers and juice boxes for all three of them, while Dr. Oobleck led Qrow into what apparently served as his office. The room was a mess: there were papers piled everywhere, and seemingly no organization. Dr. Oobleck grimaced.

“This, er. This could take a bit of time to find,” he said, and stepped back into the dining room, where the kids were seated at the table just starting their snack. “Ren, Nora, why don't you two take Penny out back to play? It seems they're going to be here for awhile.”

“Okay!” Nora bounced to her feet, and slurped down the last of her juice box until it crumpled in her hand. She tossed it into the trashcan, whooped when it went in, and took Penny's hand. “Come on, Penny! Let's play on the swings!”

“All right!” Penny let herself be led outside; Nora was already chattering loudly about- if Qrow could understand correctly- the time that Ren fell asleep on the slide and then got stuck to it. Qrow shook his head and went back into the office room, where Dr. Oobleck was digging through the papers at a speed that would put even little Nora to shame.

o/o

By the time Dr. Oobleck found the number, Peter Port had arrived; he sat in Oobleck's office chair while Oobleck searched and regaled Qrow with boring stories about his past adventures that Qrow didn't really take in. It was pretty clear where Nora had picked up her storytelling tendencies from, though at least she was loud and exuberant enough that her stories were _interesting_. It did leave Qrow wondering if there was ever a silent moment in their house, though.

“Aha!” Oobleck said, holding up a piece of paper triumphantly. “Let me just make a copy of this, and that'll have you taken care of.”

“Thanks,” Qrow said. “I'm gonna go check on the kids, okay?”

He didn't need to- the back door flew open and Nora dashed in, running right for Qrow. “Penny fell down,” she said. “She hurt her knee.”

Qrow hurried out into the backyard, where Ren had helped Penny to sit on the low wall around the patio and dabbing gently at her knee with a handkerchief. Qrow had never seen a ten-year-old with a handkerchief. He cast that thought aside and joined them, kneeling in front of Penny. Her face was streaked with tears, but she'd stopped crying, and when he looked, her knee didn't look too bad- only a little scraped up, but it definitely called for some disinfectant and a bandaid. He reached over and brushed a stray tear away. “Hey buttercup,” he said gently. “Doing okay there?”

She nodded. “I fell and landed on the patio,” she said. “It really hurt.”

“I bet it did. Let's get you inside and get that cleaned up, huh?”

Peter showed him where the bathroom and the first aid kit were, and left him to tend Penny's knee. He kept a running commentary while he cleaned her up with a damp cloth, but when it came time to put the disinfectant on she hugged her knees to her chest and flinched away.

“Nooo,” she said. “It will sting.”

He grimaced sympathetically. “I never liked this part either,” he admitted. “And I was always injuring myself as a kid, so I was always getting this stuff sprayed on one part of me or another.”

“I don't like it.”

“I know. But if I don't put this on you, you could get an infection. It could make you sick, and then you'd hurt a lot more. I think I'd take a few seconds of stinging over being too sick to play at all, don't you?”

She whimpered, and slowly lowered her knees, wincing when he sprayed the disinfectant on. Soon enough, though, it was time to put the bandaid on. He picked up the box and eyed it.

“Looks like you've got three choices, buttercup,” he said. “Do you want a smiley face, a kitten, or ladybugs?”

She eyed the bandaids with all the intensity of an action hero choosing which wire to cut, and finally picked the smiley face. “So my knee will be happy,” she explained. He made a noise of agreement and carefully applied the bandaid, then stood up and scooped her up into a hug.

“That's my girl,” he said. “That wasn't such a bad ordeal, hey? What do you say we head home now? Your old man'll be getting back soon, maybe he'll have a little time to play with you before dinner.”

“But I still have to do my homework,” Penny said, then smiled. “But perhaps if he isn't too busy he can help me?”

“Can't hurt to ask.” He shifted her around so he was carrying her piggyback (“You are injured, after all,”) and headed back to office, which Peter and Dr. Oobleck were working on organizing. “We're gonna take off now,” he said. “Thanks for your help.”

“Not a problem at all,” Dr. Oobleck said. “Goodbye, Penny, feel free to come back and play with Ren any time you like.”

“Thank you, Dr. Oobleck. I had lots of fun!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only picked the parent/child pairs I did with this lot because Port called Nora "one of his favorite students" during the JNPR/BRNZ fight and I went with that, but I realized afterwards how hilarious the combination was given how talkative Nora is and Port liking the sound of his own voice. People tend to be really surprised to find out Nora is a foster child in light of how much she and Port talk.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James and Qrow both take matters into hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep forgetting the mention, the house James and co live in actually does exist. I made some tweaks to it to suit my purposes, but I based the house off of one we did for work a couple years ago.

o/o

James was too busy to help Penny with her homework, so Qrow did it instead. She didn't need much help- she was a bright girl, and the material was review work anyway. They did have fun constructing her spelling word sentences together, compressing entire stories down to one sentence. Qrow had always preferred his students to do that over just a bland sentence with the standard subject-verb-object format. It let him see that his students had understood the word's meaning, and it was entertaining to read as well.

By the time they were done, it was time to start dinner. James came in and scooped Penny up over his shoulder, then carried her down the stairs, Qrow trailing behind them.

“So what shall we do for dinner tonight?” James asked.

Penny gave this a great deal of thought, before, “Can we have French toast?”

“Hmm, let me think about it.” He half turned back to Qrow as they made it into the kitchen, and set Penny down. “What do you think, Qrow. Do you like French toast?”

“I love French toast.”

“So do I,” James said. “So that's settled. We'll have French toast for dinner.”

Penny cheered, and hurried over to the fridge to take out a carton of eggs, carrying it very carefully in front of her to the counter. James grabbed a couple of bowls and the big frying pan from the cabinet, and directed Qrow to grab a loaf of bread from the breadsafe. Pretty soon James was beating the eggs with a fork, while Penny and Qrow looked on, watching with apparent interest. Halfway through, Qrow started a running commentary, like he was commenting on a sports match, which had Penny in a fit of giggles by the time the slices of French toast were sizzling in the pan.

Dinner was a cheery affair, and then Qrow sorted out the laundry that had collected while James and Penny did the dishes, and then it was time to get Penny ready for bed. James sent Penny down to say goodnight to Qrow, and then disappeared into his office to wrap up his work for the evening. He kept one ear on the room across the landing, listening to Qrow get Penny settled in bed. He couldn't make out what they were saying- Qrow's voice was low, more sand than gravel, and Penny's voice was soft and clipped.

He turned back to his work, but as he did he slowly became aware that Qrow's voice had tapered into song, a soft lullaby that James couldn't quite make out the words too. His voice was pleasant, and James closed his eyes and let the lullaby flow around him, almost putting him to sleep as well. His eyes snapped open again when Qrow tapped on his door, and he looked over to see the man leaning in.

“Better go say goodnight now, she's nodding off,” he said. He grinned. “Did I put you to sleep?”

“It's been a long day,” James said wearily. He pushed to his feet and disappeared into Penny's room, closing the door behind them so they could have a bit of privacy. “Hi, beloved,” he said. She blinked sleepily up at him from her covers, and he knelt beside her. “Sorry I couldn't help you with your homework today.”

“That's okay, Father.” She snuggled into her blankets, almost disappearing from view in the cocoon she had made around herself. “Mr. Qrow helped me.” Her eyes drooped, and she yawned. “I'm glad he's around,” she murmured. “I really like him.”

“Good to know.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Go to sleep, Penny. I'll see you in the morning.”

He left then, pulling her door to so that he could listen for her in the night, and turned to find Qrow watching him. They stood for a moment, staring at each other, until a faint blush tinged Qrow's cheeks pink and he looked away. “Just wanted to say goodnight,” he muttered. “So uh... g'night.”

“...goodnight.”

Qrow nodded once, then turned and- there was no other word for it- fled down the stairs. James heard him close his door a little harder than strictly necessary, and took a deep breath before disappearing into his own room. There had been a moment- when Qrow had been standing there watching him, he'd had the bizarre idea of taking Qrow into his own room. Taking him to bed with him.

Even more absurd was the idea that if he'd tried, Qrow would have let him.

“You're being inappropriate,” he reminded himself. “He's your employee. You're his employer. There's a line.”

A line that he refused to cross. End of story.

o/o

Qrow pulled his door shut- a little harder than necessary- and leaned back against it. He wasn't sure what he'd been thinking, staying up there like that. What- did he expect James to take him to bed with him? To pull him into his room and ravish him twelve ways to Sunday?

“Don't be stupid,” Qrow hissed to himself. “He's your boss. That's crossing the line.”

It didn't help to quell the images swimming in his brain, though. He sighed and grabbed a towel, disappearing into the bathroom to solve those images the the old fashioned way.

o/o

The next few days passed easily; Qrow spent his days around the house, finding ways to entertain himself until it was time to pick up Penny. On Wednesday he had to look after Ruby and Yang, so he took Penny with him, and the three girls spent the afternoon together in the backyard. On Thursday Dr. Oobleck invited them to come to the park with them, and they stayed there until the sun was starting to set and it was time to go home.

Penny had never had other children to play with before. She never seemed to click with any of her classmates, and none of the children outside of her class seemed to notice her. But Ruby thought she was the bee's knees, and Nora seemed to have decided to play the big sister to her, and now dinner was punctuated by Penny chattering about all the exciting things she had done with her friends that day, while James listened with a small, quiet pang in his heart.

He knew it was silly. He know he was being irrational, and he knew it was good for her to have other children to play with. And he was glad, he really was. But it stung a little that she didn't seem to need him as much anymore- she was playing with her friends in the afternoons, while he worked, and in the evenings, it was more often than not Qrow who got her ready for bed and put her to sleep. It wasn't that James didn't want to- he just didn't have time. And he hated that.

He'd make it up to her over the weekend, he decided after he'd said goodnight to her. He headed down the stairs and knocked on Qrow's door.

Qrow had a towel around his waist when he answered the door. His hair was soaking wet and hanging flat on his head, and he was dripping water around his feet. James had the dim thought that it was good they had wood flooring, but that was about the only thought he could manage to form coherently because Qrow looked _good_ like this. He was tousled and damp and a little disgruntled, and James was aware that he was staring but he couldn't _stop_.

A bead of water trailed down Qrow's neck. James was swept with the urge to follow its trail with his lips, with his tongue, to lap it up and then mark the place it had lain.

“Sorry,” he finally managed to stammer out, forcibly snapping himself out of his daze. “I didn't realize you were in the shower. I'll- I'll let you finish first.”

Qrow opened his mouth as though to reply, then closed it again and shook his head. “I'll just go throw my clothes on,” he said.

“...right.”

James knew that he was blushing- was painfully aware of how hot the back of his neck was, how red his ears _must_ be. He turned around and went into the living room, willing away the thoughts he'd had.

o/o

In his room, a Qrow closed his door back while a slow smirk spread across his face. He could read that look on James' face clearly enough: he'd seen the way the man's eyes had traveled over his body, obviously enjoying himself, and he'd seen the tell-tale tenting in his pants as well. He let his towel fall and moved over to grab his clothes back up so he could see what James wanted.

“Looks like Jimmy wouldn't mind so much if I crawled into his lap after all,” Qrow said to himself.

o/o

By the time Qrow emerged from his room, back in the clothes he'd worn that day, James had gotten himself under tight control. He was stood near the window, arms folded behind his back and staring out into the night rather than look over at Qrow, and be reminded of the sight he'd seen moments before. He heard rather than saw Qrow move over to drop himself onto the couch and stretch out his legs in front of him; James took a deep breath and counted to ten before turning around to face him.

“So what's up, Jimmy?” Qrow asked. James immediately considered turning back around- the way Qrow was sprawled out so lazily was positively _sinful_.

“I don't have anything on my schedule for this Saturday,” James said, counting again. “I was going to take Penny to the amusement park, and I thought maybe Yang and Ruby would enjoy going as well.”

“They probably would,” Qrow agreed. “I'll talk to their folks tomorrow, make sure it's okay.”

“Good- that's... good.” James smiled tightly. “I'll say goodnight, then.”

“Goodnight,” Qrow said, a lazy lilt to his voice. James froze halfway to the door, a current running down his spine at Qrow's tone. He glanced over his shoulder, but Qrow was already in his room, closing the door behind him with a soft click. James forced himself to move, to go back up the stairs to his room. This was getting out of hand.

In his room, James stripped down and headed into the bathroom to shower, trying not to think too hard about the fact that Qrow was doing the exact same thing downstairs. Or the way his skin had looked with water dripping down it. Or the lazy look in his eyes when James had been talking. Or the image that had followed James up the stairs, the image of him trailing Qrow into his room and pinning him to his bed, applying his lips to that beautiful skin, worshiping every inch of it until-

-James groaned and braced himself against the wet tile. If one solution wouldn't work, he'd just have to try another.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow makes bad life choices. So does James.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we're getting to the end of Act 1. I've got one more plot-segment planned, and then we kick it into Act 2.

o/o

The girls were delighted at the idea of spending a day at the amusement park, so early Saturday morning the five of them piled into James' minivan and were on their way. It was a long drive to the amusement park, and by the time they arrived they were all stiff from being seated so long, and stood stretching out their limbs in the parking lot for several minutes. Then they made their way to the entryway to buy their passes for the day.

“What should we do first?” Qrow asked, once they were inside the park. There were rides all around, from slow, gentle trains that barely reached any great speed to enormous coasters that rose up, up, up seemingly right into the clouds only to plummet once more the Earth like a bullet. There were gravitrons and whirligigs, there were spinning swings and spinning pods, and rooms with holograms surrounding the ride to make the passengers think they were passing through dense jungles and vast deserts, or crossing wild seas and climbing mountains that scraped the very heavens.

Only some of this was accessible to the children, since there were height restrictions and Penny and Ruby were small for their age besides.

“You'd think a kid with your genes would be taller,” Qrow remarked, while they headed in the direction of the kiddie coasters. “Not that it would help her here, it's just a little surprising.”

“Her mother was very small,” James said. His voice was cool; Qrow raised an eyebrow.

“You two didn't get along, I take it.”

“ _I_ thought we got along fine,” James said. “But I guess not, since she didn't tell me about Penny when she was born.”

“Bad breakup?” Qrow guessed. James just shook his head.

“We were never dating to begin with.”

“One night stand?”

“Something like that.”

“Maybe that was the problem.”

James just looked away, clearly uncomfortable, and Qrow turned his attention to the girls. He suspected James _did_ know why Penny's mother didn't like him, but he didn't say. He intended to use the day to seduce James, and didn't want to upset him and make it harder than it had to be.

o/o

The girls dragged them from ride to ride, the two men always fated to remain at the exit to wait for them to get off, always breathless and dizzy and eyes alight with joy. James was finding it hard to think during these waits- Qrow always managed to be standing just a little too close, their arms brushing against one another every time one of them moved. James wanted to pull away, to put a little space between them so he could think, but he didn't want to be rude. Anyway, he kind of enjoyed it, having Qrow so close.

By the time they headed to the food court for lunch, James was feeling wound up. Qrow's constant proximity was unnerving, and over lunch, while he half-listened to the girls plan out which rides to go on after lunch (and after a walk, James mentally added, not wanting them to get sick from riding right after eating), James decided that he would ask Qrow to put some space between them.

He didn't have to, it turned out. Qrow did it himself, pulling away a little more than James would have liked, in fact. The space at James' side felt empty now, and bizarrely he ached to have Qrow filling it. He wanted to reach out and pull Qrow closer, to throw an arm around his shoulder and feel him pressed against his side.

He sighed, and leaned a little more heavily on the fence. He really needed to get a better handle on this Qrow situation.

o/o

Qrow had a good feeling about his chances tonight. He'd seen the way James was looking at him all day, watching him in his periphery and shifting uncomfortably when Qrow stood too close, or too far away. He knew James wanted him, and had already decided to make his move after they put Penny to bed. His room would be best, he decided. That way it would make it on James whether they stayed together after they'd done- Qrow would prefer him to stay, but he wouldn't try to hold him there if he didn't want to.

They stopped by to drop the girls off first, and while Tai and Raven got the girls out of the van- both exhausted, and Ruby had fallen asleep somewhere along the way- James said, quite suddenly, “Why don't you take the night off, Qrow?”

“What?” Qrow looked a bit like a deer in the headlights; James drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

“I was hoping to spend some time with just Penny tonight,” he said. “So why don't you take the night off?”

In the back seat, Penny opened her eyes to ask something sleepily, and Qrow squinted suspiciously at James. He didn't buy it for a minute- he suspected that James had caught on to his seduction plan, and was trying to get rid of him. Well, why didn't he _say_ something? Qrow huffed.

“All right,” he said. “I'll see you in the morning?”

James hesitated, and, “Why don't you take tomorrow off too? You've been at it all week, you deserve a break.”

“Okay...” Qrow shrugged, and got out of the van. “I... guess I'll see you tomorrow night, then.”

“Right.”

He left, then, and Qrow watched him drive away before turning to trudge into the house behind Tai.

“What'd you do?” Tai asked.

Qrow shrugged. “I don't know,” he lied. “Maybe he just wants to to spend time alone with Penny, like he said.”

“Seemed pretty clear that he wanted to get away from you. You didn't actually try to seduce him, did you?” When Qrow said nothing, merely looked away, Tai gave him an exasperated look. “ _Qrow_. You didn't. We talked about this! You said you weren't going to try to seduce him.”

“Yeah, but that was before he looked at me like I was a fucking _feast_ , Tai.” (“Language!” Summer called from down the hall in Yang's room.) “He made it pretty da- _darn_ clear that he wanted me,” Qrow went on. “I was just trying to make it clear back.”

“No wonder he left you here,” Tai said, rolling his eyes. “Qrow, he's your _boss_. You are his _employee_. No matter how much he wants you or how mutual that is, acting on it would be _incredibly_ irresponsible. It's a breech of trust.”

“He's right,” Raven said, coming out of Ruby's room to join them. “Ruby wants to say good night,” she added, at Qrow. He nodded and disappeared into the bedroom.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said. “You had fun today?”

Ruby nodded sleepily at him. Her eyelids were drooping, and keeping them open to talk to him was an obvious effort for her. He leaned over and kissed her forehead softly.

“Night, Ruby,” he murmured. “Sweet sleep.”

She'd already fallen asleep. His face softened and he slipped out, closing the door gently behind him before crossing the hallway to Yang's room. She was sitting up waiting for him, sleepy but not on the precipice of nodding off. There seemed to be something on her mind; he pulled the door closed behind him and grabbed the chair from the corner of her room so he could sit down beside her.

“What's up, Yangarang? Got something to say?”

“I can talk to you about stuff, right, Uncle Qrow? I mean, stuff I maybe can't talk to Mom or Mama or Dad about?”

“That's what I'm here for. What's bothering you?”

Yang fidgeted, combing her fingers nervously through her hair a little before she began. “It's just... there's this kid in my class...”

He was silent while she talked, listening intently and nodding from time to time to prompt her to carry on. When she finally trailed off, he gave her an encouraging smile. “You need advice, or just wanted someone to listen?”

“Just listen,” she said. “I think I know what I'm going to do.”

“That's good.” He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “And listen, I'm always here for you, okay? Just cause I'm not living here anymore doesn't change that. You need me you just call. You and Ruby are always my priority- Jimmy knows that, he'll understand.”

She gave him a small smile. “So you won't get fired if I need you for something while you're taking care of Penny?”

“Course not.” He winked. “And if I do, then Jimmy's not the man I think he is and I don't wanna work for him anyway.”

“Okay.” She nodded, and snuggled down into her covers. “Good night, Uncle Qrow.”

“Night kiddo.”

o/o

James felt bad about sending Qrow off. Still, it was preferable to having him there, too close not close enough, a constant temptation working its way under James' skin to peel away layers of clothes and spread Qrow out under him, drawing what noises he could from him. Would Qrow be a loud partner, he wondered. Probably- he seemed like the type.

And it was getting harder and harder for James to banish those thoughts from his mind, which was why it was best that Qrow just spent the weekend at his sister's, and put enough space between them that James could get himself under control.

In the meantime, he had a little time to spend with Penny, at least. He'd find something relaxing for them to do tomorrow, and by the time Qrow got back he'd have a handle on himself and be able to deal with these urges he kept having.

o/o

When James woke up next morning, it took him a few minutes to figure out why the house felt too quiet- Qrow, or rather, the lack of him. In just a few days James had gotten used to waking up to the sound of him singing while he made breakfast, filling the house with entirely-too-cheerful lyrics about the most depressing subjects. Yesterday's tune had been an upbeat, bouncing song about a shipwreck wherein all but the singer had been killed.

The house was still, now. There was no smell of breakfast cooking or Qrow's pleasantly gravel singing. When James got up and went into the kitchen in a few minutes, he wouldn't see Qrow there, completely at ease while he flipped pancakes or stirred eggs or made oatmeal that actually tasted _good_. There would be no warm conversation over breakfast. It would just James and Penny, and no Qrow.

The realization hit him hard, something in his chest constricting at the lack. Qrow wasn't just gone, he was _missing._ He was supposed to be here too- and _that_ realization made James groan and dig the heels of his hands into his eyes until colored lights burst in his vision.

“Oh _no_.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE9l2p0kLKk) is the song that James references Qrow singing. I love Irish music. Qrow, I have arbitrarily decided, does too.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow runs damage control.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is for the people who begged me to put in Cinder/Winter.

o/o

Qrow made it back that night around the time James was putting Penny to bed; James said goodnight to Penny and left Qrow to sing her to sleep. The lullaby flowed through the open door into James' office, and he sank down into the gentle tone, drifting off himself. The song made his heart ache with longing, enough so that when Qrow's voice died away and James heard him get up, he got up as well and hurried into his room, leaning on the door as he realized he'd just fled rather than see Qrow.

He was ashamed of his cowardice. All the same, he stayed where he was until he heard Qrow turn and head downstairs.

o/o

_Well, now you've done it_ , Qrow thought. He'd seen James going into his room just as Qrow was approaching, could guess he'd done it to get away. He sighed and turned to head downstairs to bed. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised. He'd pushed, and now James was pulling back rather than risk him pushing more.

He cursed himself as he got ready for bed. What had he been thinking? So James had thought him attractive- that didn't mean he would be interested. And now Qrow had ruined what was turning into a wonderful working relationship and what could have been a strong friendship, as well.

_Why do you always have to ruin everything_ ? he thought.  _Why can't you just do something right for a change_ ?

He sighed, and pulled his covers over his head. Time to start some damage control- tomorrow he'd make sure to give James some space, so he'd know Qrow had gotten his message.

o/o

The week that followed was almost painful. James wanted nothing more than to be near Qrow, but he wouldn't put Qrow in that position. He refused to cross the line. Instead he shut himself in his office while he was working, and dismissed Qrow whenever he could. The only time they were forced to interact was at dinner, and with Penny there he had a barrier between them to calm his impulses. They were still there, an undercurrent that ran under his skin, but at least they were easier to control.

Qrow, for his part, picked up on the distance, and did his best to respect it, leaving as soon as James made clear he was dismissed and not approaching him unless he needed him. It reached the point that he only got to spend any time with him over dinner, when Penny was very clearly being set as a wall between them. It stung- and more than that, it created a hollow place in his chest that longed to be filled with James. He missed talking to him, laughing on the couch before bed, playing together with Penny before dinner- he didn't resent the distance just because he wanted to sleep with him, he also wanted to just... be around him.

o/o

Qrow didn't call the number Oobleck had given him. The information stayed on his desk, staring accusingly at him, but he couldn't bring himself to call. He wasn't sure why- he knew he ought to, before someone else grabbed the position instead. But every time he saw it sitting there, something stopped him.

o/o

Halloween was coming up at the end of the week. Sunday night, after Qrow had gotten back from Raven's, James came down from putting Penny to bed and knocked on his door. It was hanging open; he stood in the door with his hands behind his back and refused Qrow's invitation to come in.

“Halloween is this Friday,” he said. Qrow nodded. “Do you have any plans for that night?”

“Raven's lot are throwing a bash at their place,” he said. “Nothing I can't get out of if you need me. Figured you'd want to take Penny out yourself, though.”

“In fact, she wants Winter to take her,” James said. He looked a little hurt at that, but Qrow just grinned.

“That's what's cool for them,” he said. “Little kids, I mean. Anyone can get their parents to take them trick-or-treating- but to have a _grown up kid_ actually willing to take them out instead? That's bragging rights. Even more-so if the kid isn't their older sibling and being told to take them by their parents.”

“Is that it? She wants to be cool?”

“She wants to be normal.” Qrow tilted his head, and smiled. “Feeling rejected?”

James looked away. “Maybe.”

“Don't. Penny adores you. Wanting to hang out with someone else for Halloween doesn't change that.”

“Do you really think it's a good idea to let Winter take her out?”

“You trust her with Penny?”

“In the house? In a steady, enclosed environment, where I know where they're at and how to reach them? Of course. But out on the streets at night, where anything could happen? It's not that I don't trust Winter, I don't trust the rest of the world. Besides, she'd probably have her sister with her, and that makes one fourteen year old girl looking after two eight-year-olds.”

“I can feel that.” Qrow was silent for a moment, considering. Sending an adult chaperone with them would defeat the purpose of sending her with a bigger kid, but what about another bigger kid to help out? “Hey, tell you what. Yang and Ruby are going off with the neighbor girl- Amber, her name is. What if you got them to team up? Penny'd probably enjoy hanging out with the girls for Halloween, there'd be two kids, and our neighborhood is pretty good. It's gated, everyone knows everyone, and it's real safe on Halloween- the streets are lit up and everyone makes sure nothing happens to the kiddies while they're off having their Halloween fun.”

James frowned. “Do you think Winter would agree to that? And is this Amber trustworthy?”

“You could probably talk her into it. And yeah, Amber's a sport. She looks after the girls plenty when the rest of us aren't available and she does a pretty solid job. What do you think? Want to see if Winter is game?”

James considered the idea for awhile, and nodded. “All right. I'll talk to Winter tomorrow- will you ask Amber if she doesn't mind?”

“Course. We'll get everything sorted out.”

“Thank you. I'll say goodnight now.”

Qrow's face fell. “I- I was going to watch a little tv before bed,” he said. “You could join me, if you want.”

“I have some work to do,” James said stiffly, taking a step back, away, before turning and fleeing.

Qrow sighed, and fell back onto the bed. “Of course you do.”

o/o

They put the plan to Penny the next morning, and she lit up at the idea of spending Halloween with not just Winter, but also Ruby and Yang as well. Before they left, Qrow promised that he'd talk to Amber later and make sure that she was on board with the idea.

It was a couple of hours after they left that Qrow realized James had gone out and left his lunch sitting on the counter. Qrow almost just shoved into the fridge and forgot about it, but something made him pause. Maybe if he saw James away from home- somewhere that didn't involve Penny- maybe he could talk to him there.

It was worth a shot, anyway. Qrow grabbed the lunchbag off the counter and headed out.

o/o

James was in a call when Qrow arrived; his secretary made Qrow wait in the lobby till he was done. Qrow folded his arms and looked around- there were two other occupants to the lobby, Winter, looking as snooty as ever, and a girl with dark hair pulled into a side ponytail, cleaning her nails as if she had no other care in the world. Qrow tilted his head at Winter.

“Fighting again?” he asked.

Winter 'hrumphed' haughtily, but the other girl just said, “We got caught skipping class to make out behind the bleachers,” in a voice as non-caring as her manner. Winter's face tinged a bright pink.

“Cinder!” she hissed, but Cinder just shrugged.

“We've already gotten caught, Winter,” she said. “Why not just own it?”'

“She's got a point, Ice Queen,” Qrow said. He glanced up; the secretary had opened the door to beckon him in. “Don't do anything you ain't willing to own,” he added, as he headed into the office.

James was looking over a paper when Qrow came in; he looked up in surprise, one eyebrow raised questioningly.

“You left your lunch on the kitchen counter,” Qrow said, holding up the lunchbag. “Thought I'd drop it off for you.”

“Oh.” James looked surprised. “Thank you.”

Qrow just shrugged and handed the lunchbag over. Their fingers brushed as James took it, and for a moment Qrow felt bizarrely like there ought to be cherry blossoms floating around them. The moment seemed to last for an eternity, but honestly it was less than a second before James had moved over to set the lunchbag in his desk drawer.

“It's fish filet in the cafeteria today,” he said. “I'm not really a fan.”

Qrow grimaced. “Ehch. I never liked fish filet day, either. Of course, I went to public school, not a fancy private school like this one, so...”

“We _do_ have good food,” James said, amused. “I just don't like fish filet.”

“Right.”

They fell into awkward silence, both looking everywhere but at each other. After a moment, “Look, Jimmy-” Qrow began, at the same time James said, “Qrow, I-”

They both broke off, and there was another silence before James gestured for Qrow to go on. “You first,” he said.

Qrow hesitated- what was James about to say?- before pressing on. “I just- wanted to apologize,” he said, refusing to look at James. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “For the park,” he added. “See, I think you're pretty sexy, and when I saw the way you were looking at me when I answered my door in a towel, I figured, that must mean you thought I was pretty sexy, too. Right?” He chanced a look over at James, who nodded his agreement. Qrow smiled. “Yeah, see? That's what I thought. And I figured... if I thought you were sexy and you thought I was sexy, then what would be the harm in exploring that some? Right?” His face fell. “But I think all I did was make you uncomfortable. So- I just wanted to apologize for that. And- you know, tell you that you didn't have to be so wary around me. I won't hit on you anymore, I swear it. And I miss hanging out with you. It's kind of awkward living with someone who won't have anything to do with you.” He rubbed the back of his neck. He still wouldn't look directly at James, instead turning his gaze to the ceiling. “Anyway, that's it. That's all I wanted to say.”

There was a long silence, punctuated by Qrow's awkward shifting. Finally, James sighed.

“You were right,” he said. “I find you very sexy- and that made me uncomfortable. Please understand, Qrow- it wasn't you that made me uncomfortable, or at least your intentions.” He rubbed his own neck. “I didn't like the position it put me in- I'm your employer, Qrow. There's a line of trust, and I took responsibility for that line when we signed our contract. I wasn't pushing you away because you made me uncomfortable- I was pushing you away for the sake of my own self-control. And I didn't want to put _you_ in that position either.”

“I wouldn't've minded,” Qrow admitted, scuffing at the floor with one foot. “But I guess you would have?”

James nodded. “I need to know that I'm trustworthy- that I can be counted on. Letting carnal desires get the better of me... does not make me feel trustworthy.” He shrugged. “I'm sorry. It's just how I am.”

“Nothing to be sorry for. I mean,” Qrow added, “It sucks for my libido, but it's nice to know you're the kind of guy who's so careful not to take advantage of his employees.” He finally looked up, and his knees went weak at the sight of those blue blue eyes watching him. He almost wished, then, that James _was_ the sort- because then Qrow could just satisfy his lust and be done with it. But James was so _determined_ not to cross that line and be that guy- and it would be so very unfair of Qrow to try to push him to it.

James' expression softened. “You are right, though,” he said. “It's hard to live with someone you can't interact with freely.” He smiled. “And I've missed spending time with you as well.”

Qrow looked hopeful. “If I promise not to hit on you anymore, can we start over?”

James smiled, and nodded. “I'd like that.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a different Winter ship planned for endgame though.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow learns some consequences of his past actions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is one more chapter left on Act 1 after this one, and then we can get into Act 2 and that'll be fun times for everyone involved ~~except James and Qrow but they don't count~~

o/o

Qrow took Penny and the girls out Wednesday, since Penny and Ruby both had a few finishing touches they still needed for their costumes. Penny, going as the cutest Grim Reaper ever, still needed a scythe, and Ruby needed some silver face paint for her robot costume. It was a pretty okay way to spend the afternoon, all in all.

He almost didn't recognize the boy when he saw him. That was understandable- last time he saw him he hadn't been a boy at all.

_Hadn't **seemed** like a boy_ , he corrected himself, and waved when the boy caught his eye. The boy waved as well, a little hesitant, and then nudged the girl at his side before both moved over to join him.

“Hey, Mr. Branwen,” the boy said, rubbing awkwardly at his neck. Qrow gave him cock-eyed grin.

“Hey yourself,” he said. “So, should I be calling you a different name now?”

A faint blush tinged the boy's cheeks. He ducked his head. “'s Mercury,” he muttered. “'s is Emerald,” he added, gesturing at the girl next to him. She gave him a small wave.

Qrow shoved his hands into his pockets. “So uh.” He hesitated. “Don't let me pry or anything, but what does your old man have to say about this?”

A dark look passed over Mercury's face. “He doesn't have anything to say at all,” he said. “He doesn't get anything to say about me again ever.”

Beside him, Emerald gave Qrow a very determined smile and put an arm around Mercury's shoulder. “Merc lives with us now,” she said firmly. “What his dad thinks doesn't matter.”

This time the smile Qrow gave him was genuine, wide. “That's great,” he said. “Good for you.”

“Yeah.” Mercury scuffed at the ground with his toe, still pink. “'s thanks to you, really,” he admitted. “After what you did- no one's ever done that for me before. No one's ever cared enough.” He scuffed at the ground again. “So I went to the school nurse- I showed her the scar on my arm and- and I told her- told her about my dad. And now I don't live with him anymore. And Junior doesn't drink around us and he calls me Mercury like I want and he let me cut my hair short and he doesn't get too close if I'm having a freakout and, and he...” He trailed off. Shrugged. “You know,” he finished lamely.

Qrow nodded. “Yeah. I'm happy for you, kid.”

“Anyway. I just wanted to tell you that. To uh. To thank you. For caring about some dumb kid in your class. So uh. Thanks.”

“You weren't just some dumb kid,” Qrow said. “You were one of mine. Makes you special.”

“Well, I'm glad I was one of yours.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “We uh, we have to get going now. See you later, Mr. Branwen.”

He grabbed Emerald's arm without another word and the two hurried away, leaving Qrow in the middle of the aisle to stare after them. His throat felt tight, and when Penny and Ruby bounded around the corner to show him the scythe they'd found for Penny's costume, he nodded and grinned rather than trust himself to speak without his voice cracking.

o/o

Qrow got Penny home with time to do her homework before dinner, and though he helped her as best he could it was clear his head was miles away. Penny could tell something was wrong, and did her best to get through as much on her own as she could, only asking him for help if she absolutely needed it.

Once James came home, he and Penny set about making dinner, and Qrow- though he usually enjoyed joining them, or at least watching- mumbled something about not feeling well and disappeared into his room instead. When Penny came in to tell him it was time to eat, he repeated his excuse and added that he wasn't hungry. She chewed her lip hesitantly, then nodded.

“Okay,” she said. “I hope you feel better.”

“Thanks, kiddo.” He gave her a small smile. “I'm gonna go ahead to bed, so come say goodnight, okay?”

She nodded and came over to hug him, and he gave in to a compulsion to hold her tight. “Listen, Penny,” he said quietly. “I'm never gonna let anyone hurt you, okay? And if anyone tries you let me know, and I'll take care of it.”

“Yes, Mr. Qrow.”

She was so small, he thought. Small like Ruby, like Yang. Like Mercury...

He gave her one last squeeze and set her down. “All right, noodle, go on, enjoy your dinner. I'll see you in the morning.”

o/o

Qrow didn't bother to shower, and just threw his shirt and shoes aside before flopping out on his bed in just his jeans. He was going to regret it later, but he didn't care right now. He was just tired- mentally, emotionally exhausted, and he just didn't have the energy to bother taking them off.

He was still lying there a few hours later when James appeared at his door, knocking softly. “Qrow?”

“'s open,” he called into his pillow, and after a pause the door opened and James was framed in the doorway. Qrow raised his head and twisted around so that he could see. “What do you want?”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” James said. Qrow turned back around to rest his chin on his arms; after a moment, James came in and sat down on the end of the bed. “If it's me-” he began, slightly hesitant, and Qrow let out a short bark of laughter.

“You always this self-centered?” Qrow twisted around and sat at the edge of the bed, a few feet away from James, and rested his elbows on his knees. He scrubbed one hand through his hair with a sigh. “When you hired me, you had to call my old boss at Signal E., right? Did she say why they fired me?”

James pursed his lips. “They said there'd been a complaint from a parent, and that their hands were tied.”

At this, Qrow let out another bark of laughter. “Complaint, sure. Let's go with that.” He shook his head. “I suppose I should be grateful they were willing to brush it under the rug or I might not have gotten this job.” James was giving him an odd look, so he sighed. “The 'complaint' was that I decked him, and their hands were tied because they couldn't have an alcoholic teacher punching parents without getting a bad reputation for the school. Bah, I don't blame them. Sucks for me but... yeah, they did the right thing.”

James' eyebrows climbed higher. “You punched-? _Why_?”

“Cause I was drunk!” Qrow said. “Were you not listening?” He huffed and rubbed his hands irritably over his face. “It was... let's see, my... fourth? Fourth or fifth try at quitting in like a year. I'd made a whole _month_ that time.” He sneered. “And I'd had a bad day and I thought, well, what's _one drink_? Ha! One too many. Cause _one drink_ ain't enough. So I had another. One _more_ couldn't hurt, _right_?”

“How many did you have?” James asked. His voice was quiet. It was unnerving.

“I lost count,” Qrow said. “And it would have been fine except it was open house that night, and like an _idiot_ I decided to go. Because I make bad choices and think they're good ideas.” He shook his head. “First person I saw when I got there was Marcus Black. He and I were always butting heads, cause his kid had a tendency to act out and he was always at the school for one reason or another. Like Winter and her pop but... different. And Marcus? He was drunk too. Not the first time he'd turned up at the school drunk, and then we immediately butt heads and things... _escalated_.”

“And you punched him,” James guessed.

“And I punched him. And that didn't fly, and next thing you know I haven't got a job anymore and there's no school going to hire me after that, cause I'm a risk.”

He buried his face in his hands, while James fell silent, brow furrowed in thought. This was it, Qrow thought. This was the part where James fired him, because he wouldn't want someone like that looking after his little girl. Qrow couldn't blame him. He couldn't even figure out why Raven and Summer and Tai still let him look after the girls, for all that.

“Qrow..” James said. “I don't understand. Why is this coming up _now_? Penny said you were fine in town earlier- what's brought this on?”

Qrow sighed. “Mercury,” he said. “I ran into him earlier, in the costume shop. Marcus's kid,” he added, when James raised a questioning eyebrow. “He told me that- that me punching his dad gave him the push he needed to go to the authorities about his dad. He's in foster care now. His dad doesn't have custody of him anymore.”

James opened his mouth a little. “Qrow, that's... that's _good_. Why are you so upset?”

“Because I should have realized sooner!” Qrow said, finally taking his face out of his hands. He groaned and leaned back. “The signs were all there. It should have been _obvious_. I knew what sort of man Marcus was- I knew the kid was having problems- I should have _picked up on it_. Instead of leaving this _ten-year-old_ to wake up in an abusive home every day thinking _nobody cared_ what happened to him!” He buried his face in his hands again, refusing to look at those eyes, filled with sympathy where they watched him. He didn't deserve sympathy. “I should have done something. But I didn't, cause I'm a fuckup, and I didn't just fuck up my life this time, I fucked up his, too.”

“Oh.” James was silent; a few times, he seemed like he was about to say something, but didn't. After awhile, he finally said, “Well, yes, you did...”

Qrow gave him a bitter look. “Thanks.”

James hummed off-hand. “Would you like me to say you didn't? That you did nothing wrong and made no mistakes and absolve you of all blame?”

“No.” Qrow sneered. “Kinda guy you take me for, anyway?”

“The kind of guy who needs to understand that just because you made a mistake doesn't mean you can't come back from it.” He gave Qrow a reassuring look. “Qrow, you messed up. That's true. But you've also realized your mistakes. And from what I understand, you've come a long way since then.”

“What would you know?” Qrow said.

“I know that when I asked Ozpin about you, he said that he would trust you with his life. He doesn't say that about many people.” He rested his arms on his knees. “And I know that Glynda said that there was no one I could trust Penny with more than you, and Glynda doesn't trust easy.” He let a bit of warmth into his face. “Qrow, when was the last time you had a drink?”

“Well it was that night so that'd be... eight? nine? months ago, now. Around February, anyway.” He let out a short, bitter laugh. “That was my wake-up call, you know? Like looking into a mirror with Marcus and then seeing the way my kids looked at me, like they were _scared_ of me...” He hung his head. “I never wanted to see my kids scared of me again, so I got serious.”

“Qrow...” James reached over and touched Qrow's elbow reassuringly. “You can't change your mistakes,” he said. “But you can come back from them. And it turned out all right for Mercury- and for you, as well. How many more relapses would you have had to go through if not for that?”

“Henh.” Qrow rolled over so his back was to James. He wasn't sure how much more he could take of that gentle, reassuring tone. Especially since he was right, but Qrow didn't want him to be right. He wanted to be left alone to wallow. He snorted. “Hey Jim... think you could leave?”

“What?”

He sounded hurt. Qrow felt like a heel, but it was necessary. “Sorry. I know you're trying to help but you're mostly just making it harder to remember why I promised not to hit on you anymore.”

“Oh.” There was a pause, and it seemed like James wanted to say something else, but after a moment he just stood. “All right. I'll- I'll say goodnight, then.” He moved to leave, but paused in the doorway. “You're a good man, Qrow,” he said. “I wouldn't have trusted you with my daughter if I didn't fully believe that.”

“Whatever,” Qrow muttered with a half-hearted shrug. At least he'd gotten him leave, anyway.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will save Mercury in every au I am able to okay he deSERVES BETTER.
> 
> Giving him (and Emerald who aLSO DESERVES BETTER) to Junior was for Anipendragon.

**Author's Note:**

> [Find bts material for this fic on my Tumblr!](http://wyomingsmustache.tumblr.com/tagged/heart-of-the-beech)


End file.
